Rutgers men's basketball lackadaisical in loss to Iowa
The Rutgers men’s basketball team fell to Iowa 86-77 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (8-6, 0-3) got off to a slow start and were never able to recover as they became the last team in the Big Ten without a conference win.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
Another slow start
Rutgers got off to another slow start against the Hawkeyes (9-6, 1-3). Iowa took a 19-5 lead after approximately 8 minutes of play as the Knights missed 14 of their first 15 shots.
Rutgers looked disjointed and lackadaisical in the first 10 minutes of the contest.
On offense, the Knights either settled for bad shots or missed open shots. At one point in the first half, they were 2-12 on layups. On defense, Rutgers seemed slow and was consistently a step behind the Hawkeyes.
The Knights have frequently gotten off to slow starts this season, and if they want to get out of the bottom of the Big Ten, they are going to need to increase their intensity at the start of games.
Too many missed layups and turnovers
In the early afternoon, Rutgers, at times, seemed half asleep.
In the second half, the Knights made more of their layups but still ended the day shooting 42 percent from layups. Rutgers also struggled to break Iowa’s full-court pressure, as the Knights committed 16 turnovers, with many of those coming from errant passes and miscommunications. The Hawkeyes scored 16 points off of those turnovers.
Every time Rutgers attempted to cut its deficit, sloppy mistakes halted its efforts.
The Knights struggled with more than just layups and turnovers. Rutgers looked stagnant on offense and only recorded eight assists. On defense, it struggled to defend the perimeter, as Iowa shot 50 percent from three-point range.
Senior center Clifford Omoruyi struggled to make an impact on the offensive end again, as he ended with just 6 points. Freshman guard Gavin Griffiths looked uncomfortable on the court, as he played only 10 minutes and ended with 2 points.
The Knights will need to start making their layups and getting more players involved on the offensive end if they want to have success for the rest of the season.
Mawot Mag and Austin Williams shine
Senior forward Mawot Mag and graduate student guard Austin Williams shined despite the losing effort.
Mag scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds to record his first collegiate double-double. Mag was able to keep Rutgers in the game with his intensity on both ends of the floor and also shot 3-6 from beyond the arc. Mag proved to be more than just a “glue guy”, as the Knights relied on him to score and be aggressive.
Williams played another good game in the 23 minutes that he was on the floor. He scored 14 efficient points and brought down four rebounds. Williams was also Rutgers’ best defender, as he was able to use his strength to repel the Hawkeyes' guards as they attempted to drive. He is proving to be a key rotational piece for the Knights moving forward.
Rutgers will look to get its first conference victory when it comes back home to face Indiana on Tuesday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and be broadcast on Peacock and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
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